A journal of three months' walk in Persia in 1884 / by Captain John Compton Pyne ; edited by Russell Harris and Marjan Afsharian with contributions by Jeremy Archer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-259) and index.

John Compton Pyne (1857-1893), 2nd Battalion, The Dorsetshire Regiment, by Jeremy Archer -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction, by Russell Harris and Marjan Afsharian -- Background to the Journal -- Cultural Background -- Romantic attraction of Persia and the call of Lalla Rookh -- Persia in music and applied arts -- The Telegraph -- Persia in Europe -- Tourism and adventure in the Orient -- The state of Persia -- Conclusion

In 1884 an obscure British soldier, having finished his tour of duty in India, decided to make a detour on his trip home in order to spend three months crossing Persia unaccompanied except for the local muleteers. Among his accoutrements he packed a small leather-bound sketchbook in which he not only wrote a journal but in which he also added accomplished and charming water-colour illustrations. The authors' introduction contextualises this trip made in 1884 against the background of Persianate influence in British culture, and the general cultural background of late Victorian Britain is presented as the subliminal driver behind a young man's desire to explore, and illustrate, an already discovered country - Persia.